Vice President People & Culture

Vice President People & Culture

Permobil has a position open for a Vice President People & Culture

• Location: Lebanon, TN (Full time onsite Monday–Thursday, optional WFH Fridays) at our Permobil Americas headquarters

• Reports to: President, Permobil Americas, with a functional line to the Global EVP People & Culture

• Schedule: Full time, onsite Monday–Thursday, with optional work from home on Fridays

• Relocation support available

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Build what’s next at Permobil.

Permobil exists to create a future that is free from mobility limitations . We design and deliver innovative mobility solutions that transform lives—helping people live with greater independence, dignity, and freedom.

We are entering our next phase of growth by:

• Driving faster, breakthrough innovation

• Building a world-class, resilient manufacturing system

• Delivering exceptional customer experiences that build lifelong loyalty .

Supported by a bold, people-first culture and an AI-enabled business , we are turning ambition into impact at scale.

Join us in shaping the future of mobility.

The Opportunity

This is a build-and-elevate leadership role. As Vice President, People & Culture, you will lead the People & Culture function for Permobil Americas and be a true strategic business partner to the President and the Americas leadership team - shaping growth plans and operating models and taking part in the pivotal decisions that come with them. We are looking for an active driver of culture, not a function administrator.

The role also has global reach. You will be the strategic People & Culture partner to certain global roles, such as our COO and our EVP Quality & Regulatory, setting the people agenda for their worldwide Operations and Quality & Regulatory organizations at the strategy level – including leadership talent, strategic capabilities, organizational design, and workforce planning - while the regional P&C teams you oversee deliver day-to-day support. You will sit on both the Permobil Americas executive leadership team (ELG) and the Global People & Culture Leadership Team.

Your scope spans our commercial, operations and manufacturing, and service organizations, at a time when we are driving growth while scaling our operations.

Your Role in Our Mission

Strategic business partnering

• Partner with the President of Permobil Americas, the regional leadership team, and the global functions on business strategy, organizational design, and growth plans.

• Act as the strategic People & Culture partner to the COO and the EVP Quality & Regulatory, setting the people agenda for Operations and Quality & Regulatory worldwide together with their leadership teams.

• Propose operating plans and budget for People & Culture in line with regional and global strategy and follow up that goals and targets are met.

• Coordinate with the APAC and EMEA P&C organizations so that agreed global priorities are delivered consistently and resolve tension between global and regional agendas early.

Organization, talent, and leadership

• Lead organizational design and strategic workforce planning, connected to capacity, footprint, and product portfolio plans.

• Define the strategic capabilities the business needs, assess the gaps, and drive the plans that close them.

• Initiate and facilitate leadership talent reviews, succession planning and development plans for critical roles, and build the leadership pipeline.

• Guide leaders through change - reorganizations, integrations, site changes and scaling - with structured change management and clear communication.

Culture, engagement, and employee experience

• Deliberately build and drive a high-performance culture, with competent and engaged employees and professional leadership, and lead engagement and change initiatives that stick.

• Own engagement measurement and follow-through and develop the employee experience from onboarding to exit.

• Champion an inclusive workplace where people from all backgrounds can contribute and grow.

Total rewards and P&C operations

• Lead compensation and benefits within global frameworks and support the annual salary and incentive processes.

• Oversee payroll and P&C administration, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and data quality.

• Maintain P&C systems and processes that meet company and regulatory information needs and use people data and agreed metrics to guide decisions.

Employee relations and compliance

• Partner with business leaders on employee relations matters and organizational risk, consulting legal counsel as appropriate.

• Maintain current knowledge of employment legislation and labor market trends and ensure compliance in the countries where we operate.

• Oversee workers’ compensation, contribute to safety, quality and regulatory committees, and make sure competence and training requirements linked to the quality management system are reflected in P&C processes.

• Ensure core P&C responsibilities are handled consistently across the countries in the region.

Leading the P&C team

• Build, strengthen, lead, and develop the regional People & Culture team for Permobil Americas - a team of 12 members, including 7 direct reports - with clear priorities, ways of working, and development plans.

Global People & Culture Leadership Team

• Contribute to Permobil’s people strategy, annual P&C priorities, and the decisions of the Global People & Culture Leadership Team.

• Take global ownership of one or more Group P&C processes or programs - for example the talent review and succession cycle, the engagement survey, the performance and salary review process, leadership development, employer branding, or P&C systems and data.

• Contribute to global policies and frameworks and act as a sparring partner to the P&C leaders in EMEA and APAC.

• Contribute to P&C planning and budget, to people-related risk in the ERM cycle, and to people reporting for the owner and for sustainability reporting.

What You’ll Bring

We are looking for a people leader who is both strategic and hands-on: boardroom-ready with senior executives and equally comfortable spending time on the manufacturing floor.

Education/Certification:

• Bachelor’s degree in human resources management, management, business administration, organizational development, or a related field.

• A master’s degree or senior HR certification (for example SHRM-SCP or SPHR) is a plus.

Knowledge Required:

• High-level business acumen and the confidence to challenge and advise senior leaders.

• Substantial international experience - has worked across regions, cultures, and time zones rather than in a single domestic organization.

• Proven ability to have impact in a matrix organization: influencing without formal authority, building trust with peers who do not report to you, and creating alignment between global functions and regional organizations.

• Experience of owning a global process or program delivered through regional teams, including the judgement of what should be one global standard and what is best left to the regions.

• Credibility with executive stakeholders; able to challenge, say no and hold a position, and to keep several senior stakeholders aligned around the same agenda.

• Comfortable with ambiguity, competing priorities, and dual reporting; brings structure and clear decision-making rather than adding process.

• Strong interpersonal skills; ability to communicate and engage at all levels of the organization and with staff at remote locations.

• Understanding and appreciation for cultural differences and diversity.

• Working knowledge of federal and state employment regulations in the US, and awareness of requirements in Canada and Latin America.

• Breadth across the P&C area - talent, leadership development, total rewards, employee relations and P&C operations - in a multi-country setting.

• Comfortable with P&C systems and people data; able to turn data into decisions.

• A coaching leader who represents people matters professionally, with high personal integrity, in an inspiring and confident way; goal oriented and structured.

• Fluent in English, orally and in writing; Spanish and/or Portuguese is a plus.

• Willing and able to travel both domestically and internationally as the role requires.

Experience Required:

• A minimum of 10+ years of People & Culture / HR experience in progressively responsible leadership/management roles; 3+ years of experience managing people.

• Experience as a member of a leadership team, preferably in an international matrix organization, ideally within a global company headquartered outside the US.

• Experience with senior People & Culture leadership in complex manufacturing, medical device, or other regulated environments, with credibility as a business partner to both commercial and operations/manufacturing leaders; multi-site responsibility is an advantage.

• Track record of leading real transformation, growth, change, and performance improvement, ideally in a scaling or operational improvement setting.

• A proven driver of culture: you build culture deliberately and lead engagement and change that sticks, rather than administering HR programs.

• Commitment to working onsite at our Permobil Americas headquarters in Lebanon, TN.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Background in medtech, durable medical equipment (DME), rehab technology, or life sciences.

• M&A integration experience – as Permobil Americas brings together a portfolio of brands including ROHO, TiLite, and PDG.

• Experience with Canadian operations or a cross-border workforce.

• Depth in total rewards and organizational design.

What Success Looks Like

In your first 12 to 18 months, you will:

• Strengthen the Americas People & Culture team and build depth in the leadership bench.

• Become a trusted advisor to the President and the Americas leadership team, and a credible voice on the Global People & Culture Leadership Team.

• Deliver a measurable lift in culture and engagement across the Americas.

• Actively drive the business’s operational performance and growth agenda - not just HR programs.

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Compensation and Benefits

This leadership role is eligible for Permobil's incentive programs.

In addition to base pay, Permobil offers our full - time employees the following:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits that begin on your first da y

• HSA contribution matching up to $1,600/year

• 401(k) Retirement – 100% employer match on the first 3%, with 50% matching on the next 2% with immediate vesting. Traditional and ROTH options .

• Generous PTO policies

• 100% Employer paid LTD, STD, and Life Insurance plans

Permobil will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information."

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Additional Details

Apply via our career site today! (https://www.permobil.com/en-us/careers) For more information about the role or the recruitment process, please contact Zach Blaisdell, Talent Acquisition Partner, at [email protected] or (629) 200-8284, and/or Caitlyn Mayhew, Talent Acquisition Specialist, at [email protected] or (629) 234-7320.

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About Permobil

Permobil was founded on the belief that helping people achieve the greatest level of independence is a basic human right. For over 50 years, we’ve been a global leader in advanced rehabilitation technology, continuously improving the lives of our users through innovative mobility solutions.

Today, our portfolio includes power wheelchairs, seating and positioning products, and manual mobility solutions. Permobil operates in more than 18 countries and is part of Patricia Industries, a subsidiary of Investor AB.

For information regarding Permobil's Privacy Notice, please visit Permobil Candidate Privacy NoticePermobil Candidate Privacy Notice (https://www.permobil.com/privacy-notice/candidate-privacy-notice)

Permobil is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal (https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/22-088\_EEOC\_KnowYourRights6.12ScreenRdr.pdf)

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